Kung Fu Sad Panda

January 1, 2015 10:36 PM

Why would a martial arts school need to know what antidepressants a student is taking?

A local dojo's application for new students requests that they list the medications they currently take for depression. Why ask about depression specifically, and what use might this information be?

posted by anonymous to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (11 answers total)

Sometimes depressed people try to use martial arts as therapy. This is a bad idea. I've seen too many people try to use martial arts as therapy for traumatic life issues and it's unfair both to them, and to the people they train with. It creates a bad training atmosphere, increases the risk of injury and causes incredible conflict when you have a bunch of unwell people with issues around violence bouncing off each other in a contact sport.
posted by wuwei at 11:15 PM on January 1, 2015 [3 favorites]

Asking about depression specifically makes me think it's likely they want to discriminate against someone who has been labeled with a mental illness or they hold inaccurate stereotypes about mental illness and violence.
posted by horizons at 11:42 PM on January 1, 2015 [4 favorites]

Some antidepressants can cause abnormal bleeding.
posted by poffin boffin at 11:58 PM on January 1, 2015 [12 favorites]

It's the bleeding thing. They'll also want to know if you're taking nsaids like Advil, aspirin, warfarin etc and probably basically anything since even vitamin E supplements "may" increase bleeding. This is becoming more common on sports waivers ime (which in turn are driven by laws and insurance companies).

I imagine this is a bigger concern in sports where you get punched in the face occasionally.
posted by fshgrl at 12:14 AM on January 2, 2015 [2 favorites]

I agree with horizons. Some attempted discrimination is afoot here. I would personally view this as absolutely none of their business, and would not volunteer any information about specific mental health diagnoses, if any.

I don't buy that this is about bleeding, because there are drugs that aren't anti-depressants that cause abnormal bleeding, and anti-depressants that don't. I patently don't think this is about that. But if you are taking any sort of blood thinners and you're worried about that, I'd discuss it with the dojo, again leaving any diagnoses off the form.

Note that leaving information off of forms has never been a problem for me. I routinely leave off things like social security number. Just because people are snoopy and want you to give them XYZ pieces of information, doesn't mean you have to.
posted by mysterious_stranger at 3:23 AM on January 2, 2015 [6 favorites]

I'd ask them outright. It's weird. All medications...perhaps, but one particular sort of medication. Unless they have a VERY good reason for asking, I'd keep looking.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 6:16 AM on January 2, 2015 [2 favorites]

The only thing I can think would justify asking about anti-depressants specifically (even though the article poffin boffin link concludes with "unless your patients are elderly or already have concerns about bleeding, don't bother discussing this") is if they asked about medication generally and are trying to convey "Hey, we really meant that question" knowing that anti-depressants are really common and that people will leave them off forms. (But if that were the case, it would make more sense to include a note after the question that says "Please be sure to include everything. Some medications that might surprise you, like SSRIs, can impact bleeding.")

As a datum, I've done martial arts three different places (and visited a fourth, but that probably doesn't count) and only one asked for any sort of medical information. I assumed it was because most of the students are under 12 (everywhere else was adults only) and likely couldn't produce that information themselves if needed.
posted by hoyland at 6:30 AM on January 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

I'd ask them. I could totally understand if they wanted a full list in case of emergencies--paramedics like to know what people are taking. But antidepressants only seems off.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 9:22 AM on January 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

I've been practicing various martial arts for 33 years and teaching regularly for the last few years. I've never heard of a dojo asking this and I can't think of a good reason why they should.
posted by tdismukes at 10:49 AM on January 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

I have a different hobby that also involves physical peril (motorcycle track days). The only time I've ever been asked about antidepressants was at a track school run by a Scientologist (Keith Code). He made no pretense that it was about abnormal bleeding.
posted by workerant at 6:06 PM on January 2, 2015

The above facts, if true, would violate Title III of the ADA. (Public accommodations can take steps to ensure qualified participants, and safety, but not in the way described above.)
posted by ClaudiaCenter at 11:54 PM on January 2, 2015